Home ownership sucks!

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Zenn7
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Home ownership sucks!

Post by Zenn7 »

Buy a house, get a break on taxes, you'll own it!

No break on taxes (guessing this is because the mortgage/interest was not that high when I bought it, which is probably a good thing).

I have found no pride/joy in being a home owner.

The one thing I look forward to is eventually owning it and not having a house payment, but continual refinances (doing another now, lower rate, 15 years), have us owning the house in 2036, that we bought in 2003.

Maintenance/repairs and trying to replace/upgrade things that should have been done long ago when we first moved in and had no money just keep piling up. We were going to get new carpeting last year, did get the 2 entry doors replaced and the 150' of sort of private gravel road leading to our driveway redone. Day before they were going to start hauling stuff out and replacing carpeting, we had value/fragile stuff packed away in another room that was not being replaced... COVID.

Thanks to not losing my job or any money and socking away all the stimulus money, we have a lot more to spend on the house, with a lot more that needs to be done:
- the furnace is making a loud noise (inductor motor, bad ball bearing or something - someone oiled it for me and showed me how, but maybe a month later if that, different/louder noise)
- attic/roof issue - ventilation at least (nails are rusty on the inside), probably some roof work at least
- the carpeting doesn't just need to be replaced - the subfloor is only 1/4 in we think (maybe 1/2, but should be at least 3/4" and it's definitely not that), - some strange pee like smell we can't trace down anywhere, when we tried to today
- found mold in the corner in the living room today while trying to track down pee smell - trying vinegar to see if that solves the problem long term
- checked the corner in the kid's room where we found mold a couple years ago cleaned it, thought it had gone away, it's back - thinking we probably need to at least cut out/replace affected drywall
- really need a water softener as our water is very hard (all our clothes are orange faded from rust, kitchen sink is likely to literally come apart sooner than later, something wrong w/ bath tub that it doesn't seal to take a bath, though shower works OK, etc)
- really need to replace the porch

I have no handyman skills to do any of this work.
We've had the shed roof fixed, but there's some holes in the shed (wood), and the floor is sunk in one side; more holes in the lean-to portion in the back.
Redid plumbing a decade ago, replacing galvanized steel, largely with rubber hoses or pvc pipe, new toilet.
New high energy efficiency windows (expensive, but they are dang good windows)
Installed central air (expensive, but operating costs are cheaper than the 2 window a/c units we were running, works much better at keeping whole house cool and WAY WAY WAY less hassle considering the window A/C's did not fit anywhere near full in the windows, so we had to use plexiglass and foam filler to fill the windows in. Which did not seal well, so bugs got in)
New Water heater, but it was rated for 6 years, and it's probably going on 10, so expecting to need another before too terribly long

WHY THE HELL DOES ANYONE ACTUALLY WANT TO OWN A HOUSE???
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LordMortis
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Re: Home ownership sucks!

Post by LordMortis »

WHY THE HELL DOES ANYONE ACTUALLY WANT TO OWN A HOUSE???
To have your own space and be a bit further from your neighbors and to eventually pay it off or to house hop gaining equity. And for the tax break which was never meaningful to me and always less than taxes and insurance.

I have been less than thrilled with reality but since I paid my home off I feel a lot better. I also don't do maintenance like I should. That will bite me in the ass eventually.

Luck to you.

... My furnace was a lot cheaper than I thought it was going to be. $900 for a 1000 sq ft home (five years ago?) and I got a tax break and it's saved me a ton of money, not in decreased natural gas usage, but actually in electric. My old furnace was apparently an electricity hog. With the way electric rates have gone, it may actually have paid for itself, especially vs the cost of fixing it which was $150 to $250 a pop. Thinking on it, it may be time to do the same thing with the AC which is crazy expensive. If I can replace the unit for under $2000 and it brings my electric down dramatically, it might be worth it. (AC costs me over $100 a month for 4 plus months a year)

Luck to you. I also have no handyman skills and my physical abilities are declining, so even if I get to the dreamland of retirement, I'm not sure how much I can do myself.
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coopasonic
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Re: Home ownership sucks!

Post by coopasonic »

LordMortis wrote: Mon Apr 26, 2021 7:46 am ... My furnace was a lot cheaper than I thought it was going to be. $900 for a 1000 sq ft home (five years ago?) and I got a tax break and it's saved me a ton of money
And I've paid $18k to replace two furnaces and two A/C units in the past 8 months.

But yeah owning a home is about not have upstairs neighbors, always having a parking space, having the room you need and the freedom to make it your own.

33 years from purchase to payoff seems a tad (really, really) long, but interest rates are so low, why not? We bought our first home in 2000 refinanced once then trading up when our second kid was due in 2009, refinancing twice and should be paying off in 2024. We bought a $168k house in 2000 and now own 90.38% of a $473k house (per zillow. It feels really high but the market is hot right now). I am often tempted to just pay it off as we have the cash on hand, but I'd rather have the emergency fund for things like those damn HVAC units.
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LordMortis
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Re: Home ownership sucks!

Post by LordMortis »

coopasonic wrote: Mon Apr 26, 2021 11:03 am
LordMortis wrote: Mon Apr 26, 2021 7:46 am ... My furnace was a lot cheaper than I thought it was going to be. $900 for a 1000 sq ft home (five years ago?) and I got a tax break and it's saved me a ton of money
And I've paid $18k to replace two furnaces and two A/C units in the past 8 months.

But yeah owning a home is about not have upstairs neighbors, always having a parking space, having the room you need and the freedom to make it your own.

33 years from purchase to payoff seems a tad (really, really) long, but interest rates are so low, why not? We bought our first home in 2000 refinanced once then trading up when our second kid was due in 2009, refinancing twice and should be paying off in 2024. We bought a $168k house in 2000 and now own 90.38% of a $473k house (per zillow. It feels really high but the market is hot right now). I am often tempted to just pay it off as we have the cash on hand, but I'd rather have the emergency fund for things like those damn HVAC units.
And having a garage, even if it's not attached.
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Jaymann
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Re: Home ownership sucks!

Post by Jaymann »

LordMortis wrote: Mon Apr 26, 2021 11:05 am
coopasonic wrote: Mon Apr 26, 2021 11:03 am
LordMortis wrote: Mon Apr 26, 2021 7:46 am ... My furnace was a lot cheaper than I thought it was going to be. $900 for a 1000 sq ft home (five years ago?) and I got a tax break and it's saved me a ton of money
And I've paid $18k to replace two furnaces and two A/C units in the past 8 months.

But yeah owning a home is about not have upstairs neighbors, always having a parking space, having the room you need and the freedom to make it your own.

33 years from purchase to payoff seems a tad (really, really) long, but interest rates are so low, why not? We bought our first home in 2000 refinanced once then trading up when our second kid was due in 2009, refinancing twice and should be paying off in 2024. We bought a $168k house in 2000 and now own 90.38% of a $473k house (per zillow. It feels really high but the market is hot right now). I am often tempted to just pay it off as we have the cash on hand, but I'd rather have the emergency fund for things like those damn HVAC units.
And having a garage, even if it's not attached.
Plus a back yard, and no HOA restrictions. Pets if you want 'em. Plus equity.
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LordMortis
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Re: Home ownership sucks!

Post by LordMortis »

Jaymann wrote: Mon Apr 26, 2021 11:26 am
LordMortis wrote: Mon Apr 26, 2021 11:05 am
coopasonic wrote: Mon Apr 26, 2021 11:03 am
LordMortis wrote: Mon Apr 26, 2021 7:46 am ... My furnace was a lot cheaper than I thought it was going to be. $900 for a 1000 sq ft home (five years ago?) and I got a tax break and it's saved me a ton of money
And I've paid $18k to replace two furnaces and two A/C units in the past 8 months.

But yeah owning a home is about not have upstairs neighbors, always having a parking space, having the room you need and the freedom to make it your own.

33 years from purchase to payoff seems a tad (really, really) long, but interest rates are so low, why not? We bought our first home in 2000 refinanced once then trading up when our second kid was due in 2009, refinancing twice and should be paying off in 2024. We bought a $168k house in 2000 and now own 90.38% of a $473k house (per zillow. It feels really high but the market is hot right now). I am often tempted to just pay it off as we have the cash on hand, but I'd rather have the emergency fund for things like those damn HVAC units.
And having a garage, even if it's not attached.
Plus a back yard, and no HOA restrictions. Pets if you want 'em. Plus equity.
Pets would be an advantage if I didn't have bad allergies. I'm torn on the yard thing. The yard distances me from my neighbors, but not enough and it's a whole lot of maintenance that I loathe.
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Re: Home ownership sucks!

Post by Skinypupy »

I feel you man. We've been in our house since 2004. In that time, we've replaced pretty much everything.

We found out (after we bought the house, of course) that the original owners were the kids of a contractor, and that the house was built with the intent to flip it quickly. So they built everything with just enough to pass inspection, but completely skimped on materials and cut a ton of corners in the building process so they could flip it quickly and get more out of it. For example, they installed a sprinkler system, but did it with pipe that is a 1/4" smaller that what was recommended because it was cheaper. They could technically say the house had a sprinkler system, but it didn't actually work worth a shit. We ended up with small green circles about 3' around each sprinkler head, while the rest of the lawn in between was completely dead. In another case, we found out after the fact that the A/C they put in was not only way underpowered for the size of the house, but they had also installed a "used" unit that was 10+ years old when they put it in.

In short, it left us holding the bag to fix or replace, well, everything. So far, we've replaced:

Out of necessity
- A/C
- Furnace
- Water Heater (x2)
- Entire sprinkler system
- Roof
- All the windows
- Vinyl fence
- Pretty much every major appliance (fridge, dishwasher, washer, dryer, stove)
- Stucco replacement
- Shitload of plumbing and electrical repair

Elective improvements
- Finished the basement (3 bedrooms, 1 bath, laundry room, playroom)
- Put in hardwood floors in the main living area
- Replaced carpets in bedrooms
- Multiple repaints
- Removed multiple dead trees

On average, I plan on having to spend between $3,000-4,000 a year on home repair/improvement/adjustment/etc. And we haven't even touched the kitchen yet, which is my wife's biggest compliant about the house. Oy... :grund:
Last edited by Skinypupy on Mon Apr 26, 2021 11:41 am, edited 2 times in total.
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malchior
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Re: Home ownership sucks!

Post by malchior »

I just dumped *checks notes* 24000 and running the last 2 months into outdoor improvements that I frankly don't care much about. Some items were things I wished to put off like the driveway but the weather conspired to push. Another was something we wanted to do which was improve our porch which was ugly and unsafe. The unsafe won out when it nearly killed me in the winter. I also had to get a ton of landscaping done because again the wacky weather destroyed everything.

I also have started to fix all the many pavers around my property. The price I was quoted was what I thought to be extravagant so I'm doing it myself. Maybe it was extravagant but it is hard work. The previous owner did no maintenance at all on it so I'm making up for years and years of neglect. That involves digging out all the dirt around every paver, I've developed a process of pressure washing to loosen it which I dub the mud laser. I had a day last week where I was coated head to toe in mud. And I'm only working on the section that I don't have to pick up, relevel and compact like the entirety of my Italian patio in the front of the house. That'll be a treat. It needs to be done but $8000 is insane when all it takes is some water, spare time, patience, and paver sand.

Over the last 10 years I have additionally:

Put on a new roof ~$8500
A/C + Furnace ~13500
Windows ~14000
Pool liner and pool cover ~8500
Water Heater ~1500
Chimney Liner for a code upgrade ~3500
Fireplace Repair ~2500
Electrical work ~3000

Some of it was an ugly run of "bad luck" but it is what it is. That said, I'm glad to own versus rent as I've had many, many bad rental experiences. The downside is the Federal Government blew a major hole in my cost model in 2017 but that is a topic for R&P. :)
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Re: Home ownership sucks!

Post by Smoove_B »

Home ownership was the greatest lie I was ever sold. I've never been as happy owning a home than I was living in a townhouse.

Whatever you gain in owning a home is offset by the nonstop battle you're fighting against entropy as your home tries to return to the universe. While that absolutely happens in a townhouse or condo, the difference is I'm paying money to an association that's handling a good portion of the wearable parts on the exterior.

It's never ending and my resentment towards the boomers that sold me this bill of goods is growing.
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Jaymann
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Re: Home ownership sucks!

Post by Jaymann »

I bought my house "as is" directly from the bank. I have replaced:

Roof
A/C
Full electrical wiring
Interior paint
Added solar panels
Water heater
Dishwasher
Mold removal
Daughter upgraded her bathroom
Had to remove giant tree with roots going under the house

But I am an outlier because I paid so far below market that even with these costs I got a steal. And the value has essentially doubled since 2008.
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Re: Home ownership sucks!

Post by Lorini »

Every financial analyst/CPA that I know doesn't own a house and doesn't recommend owning a house. I own a house only because of the money my parents left me and my too low income to rent. My mortgage is $500 a month. I live in a brand new house, after living in my mom's old house which constantly fell apart. If you're going to own, find a new tract house to buy somewhere, WAY better.
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Re: Home ownership sucks!

Post by Skinypupy »

Jaymann wrote: Mon Apr 26, 2021 12:00 pm And the value has essentially doubled since 2008.
That's the flip side. If I were to sell today, I'd likely get around 4X what I paid for it in 2004. This area has absolutely boomed in the 17 years since we moved in, and we've added a ton to the home value by finishing the basement.

Of course, those gains would simply go towards paying for a new house that is wildly inflated as well.
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Re: Home ownership sucks!

Post by Smoove_B »

Skinypupy wrote: Mon Apr 26, 2021 12:22 pm That's the flip side. If I were to sell today, I'd likely get around 4X what I paid for it in 2004. This area has absolutely boomed in the 17 years since we moved in, and we've added a ton to the home value by finishing the basement.
It's all smoke and mirrors. The house I sold in August of 2019 is potentially going for ~80K more *today* than when I sold it. I am confident nothing has happened except pandemic panic driving prices in suburban/rural markets. I know the websites are running pricing algorithms and nothing matters until a contract is signed, but I would never tell someone (as was told to me) that buying a house is a great investment where you're guaranteed to get you money back (and make some more).

Smoke and mirrors!
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Jaymann
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Re: Home ownership sucks!

Post by Jaymann »

Lorini wrote: Mon Apr 26, 2021 12:14 pm Every financial analyst/CPA that I know doesn't own a house and doesn't recommend owning a house. I own a house only because of the money my parents left me and my too low income to rent. My mortgage is $500 a month. I live in a brand new house, after living in my mom's old house which constantly fell apart. If you're going to own, find a new tract house to buy somewhere, WAY better.
Aren't tract houses infamous for shoddy construction?
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Re: Home ownership sucks!

Post by Isgrimnur »

A new housing development just got approved for up the road from me.
Construction is set to start later this year on the development, which will include 208 two-story bungalows and 229 one-story homes.

The new homes will be priced from the high $200,000s.
Which is a bit cheaper than the last development.
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Lorini
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Re: Home ownership sucks!

Post by Lorini »

Jaymann wrote: Mon Apr 26, 2021 12:48 pm
Lorini wrote: Mon Apr 26, 2021 12:14 pm Every financial analyst/CPA that I know doesn't own a house and doesn't recommend owning a house. I own a house only because of the money my parents left me and my too low income to rent. My mortgage is $500 a month. I live in a brand new house, after living in my mom's old house which constantly fell apart. If you're going to own, find a new tract house to buy somewhere, WAY better.
Aren't tract houses infamous for shoddy construction?
This is my third new house and I've not had problems. You get a 10 year warranty on the structure, and a 1-2 year warranty on everything else. In order for the warranty to be enforced you do have to be careful on what you do with the house. For example cutting into the structure to add a window would almost certainly invalidate the warranty. The yard (if you have one) is also covered, but again changing the yard (not planting but adding drainage where the yard is already set up for drainage) could invalidate the warranty as well.
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dbt1949
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Re: Home ownership sucks!

Post by dbt1949 »

Having a house in the boonies means being able to shoot you guns! (without hitting neighbors without cause.)
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Re: Home ownership sucks!

Post by Isgrimnur »

Says the man with a hole in his bathroom.
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Re: Home ownership sucks!

Post by dbt1949 »

And my bedroom from my stepson.
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Re: Home ownership sucks!

Post by Isgrimnur »

We don't want to hear about your bespoke glory holes.
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Octavious
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Re: Home ownership sucks!

Post by Octavious »

Technically it looks like I could probably sell my house finally. Kicker would be that I would have a hard time affording anything better with the current market being so bonkers. :P At this point we're just going to refinance to get it paid off quicker and fix a bunch of things. My house is tiny, but it's cheap and nobody bothers me aside from the wildlife. :lol: I couldn't imagine every living in an apartment. A townhouse would be sweet, but again the prices are bonkers...
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Re: Home ownership sucks!

Post by Smoove_B »

Octavious wrote: Mon Apr 26, 2021 3:51 pm A townhouse would be sweet, but again the prices are bonkers...
Home prices in our area are insane. Insane.

But yeah, good luck relocating anywhere near here - see above.
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pr0ner
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Re: Home ownership sucks!

Post by pr0ner »

Smoove_B wrote: Mon Apr 26, 2021 12:35 pm
Skinypupy wrote: Mon Apr 26, 2021 12:22 pm That's the flip side. If I were to sell today, I'd likely get around 4X what I paid for it in 2004. This area has absolutely boomed in the 17 years since we moved in, and we've added a ton to the home value by finishing the basement.
It's all smoke and mirrors. The house I sold in August of 2019 is potentially going for ~80K more *today* than when I sold it. I am confident nothing has happened except pandemic panic driving prices in suburban/rural markets. I know the websites are running pricing algorithms and nothing matters until a contract is signed, but I would never tell someone (as was told to me) that buying a house is a great investment where you're guaranteed to get you money back (and make some more).

Smoke and mirrors!
A house I looked at when I bought my current condo in 2019 sold for $430,000.

That same house was back on the market in less than 2 years, and the only real update I saw was a gas stove. New price, $500,000. Was under contract very quickly, so I'll be curious to see if they got asking price or even more.

A condo in my new neighborhood just hit the market at $500,000. It was bought last July for $465,000; two years before that it was sold for $405,000. It, too, was under contract in a weekend. If it got $500,000 (the Redfin listing shows an updated price of $510,000 which is the day it went under contract), I could easily get $475,000 for mine, and I bought it 2 years ago at $406,000!
Last edited by pr0ner on Mon Apr 26, 2021 4:09 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Home ownership sucks!

Post by Octavious »

We've got 3 years and then it won't matter what town we are in. Maybe I'll get lucky and would be able to sell at that point. I would never want to move my daughters school at this point. We like the school except for the English teacher. :lol:
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Re: Home ownership sucks!

Post by Isgrimnur »

What could possibly go wrong in an untrammeled consumer market for necessary things like shelter?
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Re: Home ownership sucks!

Post by malchior »

Smoove_B wrote: Mon Apr 26, 2021 11:45 amIt's never ending and my resentment towards the boomers that sold me this bill of goods is growing.
Well it worked out for them. The boomer across the street from me is selling. I just talked to him this morning about it. The guy did his 25 years in the FD...retired about 15 years ago. He put 3 sons through state college and somehow owns a second house 2 blocks off the beach in Bradley Beach so he's getting a heck of a serious windfall here. The rest of us...maybe we'll inherit some of that boomer wealth. Ha!
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Re: Home ownership sucks!

Post by hitbyambulance »

so what's the advice to someone who is still a non-property owner? would those complaining in this thread actually voluntarily return to being a renter?

(i suspect not)
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Re: Home ownership sucks!

Post by Isgrimnur »

KXAN
The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed many people to the brink of homelessness, and while the eviction moratorium is still in place, experts say once it ends we could see a surge of families without a place to live.
Which is currently June 30th.
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Re: Home ownership sucks!

Post by Octavious »

malchior wrote:
Smoove_B wrote: Mon Apr 26, 2021 11:45 amIt's never ending and my resentment towards the boomers that sold me this bill of goods is growing.
Well it worked out for them. The boomer across the street from me is selling. I just talked to him this morning about it. The guy did his 25 years in the FD...retired about 15 years ago. He put 3 sons through state college and somehow owns a second house 2 blocks off the beach in Bradley Beach so he's getting a heck of a serious windfall here. The rest of us...maybe we'll inherit some of that boomer wealth. Ha!
It's batshit crazy how much the cops in my town get paid. I don't think a single one is under 100k and when they retire they get a sweet pension for life. Plus the million vacation days they get paid out. I'm sure that's how Mr. Fire Department bought a house.
Last edited by Octavious on Mon Apr 26, 2021 4:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Home ownership sucks!

Post by coopasonic »

hitbyambulance wrote: Mon Apr 26, 2021 4:25 pm so what's the advice to someone who is still a non-property owner? would those complaining in this thread actually voluntarily return to being a renter?

(i suspect not)
I would not but I am also not complaining.
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Re: Home ownership sucks!

Post by Skinypupy »

hitbyambulance wrote: Mon Apr 26, 2021 4:25 pm so what's the advice to someone who is still a non-property owner? would those complaining in this thread actually voluntarily return to being a renter?

(i suspect not)
Nope. To me, the expense is worth the space, the privacy, and the general lack of annoying neighbors. Once the kids are out of the house (a looooooong time from now), that calculus may change.

Talked with two neighbors who have put their houses up for sale in the past week. The number of offers and amounts of the offers they're getting are INSANE. We all moved in about the same time and have about the same size houses, and they're getting offers for a minimum of 3X what they originally paid.
Last edited by Skinypupy on Mon Apr 26, 2021 4:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Home ownership sucks!

Post by Isgrimnur »

Equity is a hell of a drug.
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Re: Home ownership sucks!

Post by Kraken »

Aspects of ownership suck, as has already been thoroughly covered. It would be nice to have someone else be responsible for everything that breaks down.

Myself, I like the independence that my house gives me. I don't have a neighborhood or condo association setting petty rules, and I don't have neighbors all up in my grill.

Mostly, I like not having flushed money down the rent hole for the past 35 years. Our mortgage payment has been half or less of the prevailing rent for the past decade or more. In 10 months we'll own an asset worth $450k. I still haven't figured out how we'll use that asset in our retirement plan, but it does provide some options.
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pr0ner
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Re: Home ownership sucks!

Post by pr0ner »

hitbyambulance wrote: Mon Apr 26, 2021 4:25 pm so what's the advice to someone who is still a non-property owner? would those complaining in this thread actually voluntarily return to being a renter?

(i suspect not)
I would not, no.
Hodor.
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Jaymon
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Re: Home ownership sucks!

Post by Jaymon »

I really enjoy some aspects of ownership. Like I can put up shelves anywhere. All the time. my house is littered in shelves, seriously. And I can have as many pets of as many breeds or sizes as I want. I do live inside city limits, so there are some rules about chickens and livestock, but no landlord to restrict how many cats I can have, or how many holes I can put in the walls.

I want to hang the tv? I hung the TV. I want to run network cable through a wall? I break out the saw and go to it. One day the teenager (a creative type) want to paint the bedroom wall. I said yes as long as there was a dropcloth to keep the carpet nice.


its true there is a lot of maintenance and such, and it sucks when shit breaks. But being the owner, and not worrying about damaging someone else's property, or getting someone else's permission, its totally worth it.


And consider this. The money you spend on mortgage, you get back when you sell (if you sell). So while there are maintenance and repair costs, those go towards the overall value of the property. You are essentially paying yourself.

When you rent, you get nothing, at the end, you had a place to live where you weren't allowed to put up shelves or have more than 2 cats.
Bunnies like beer because its made from hops.
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Re: Home ownership sucks!

Post by Isgrimnur »

Jaymon wrote: Mon Apr 26, 2021 5:39 pm The money you spend on mortgage, you get back when you sell (if you sell).
Except for all those property taxes and insurance, which is presently 41% of my payment. And the interest.

Which, of course, renters are just paying at another level of obfuscation.
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Re: Home ownership sucks!

Post by Smoove_B »

Jaymon wrote: Mon Apr 26, 2021 5:39 pm And consider this. The money you spend on mortgage, you get back when you sell (if you sell). So while there are maintenance and repair costs, those go towards the overall value of the property. You are essentially paying yourself.
This did not work out for me in 2019, no.
Maybe next year, maybe no go
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Re: Home ownership sucks!

Post by jztemple2 »

Zenn7 wrote: Mon Apr 26, 2021 12:48 am WHY THE HELL DOES ANYONE ACTUALLY WANT TO OWN A HOUSE???
Hmm. I guess it depends on the choices you made earlier in life. My wife and I got married in 1979 and rented for several years. We made the move to build our "forever" house after deciding I'd stay on the Space Shuttle program for its duration. Decent size piece of land, not on a through street, quiet neighborhood (still). That was in 1984. We put in a pool and added the cost to the mortgage so it was much more affordable. Aluminum siding, fascia and soffit so I've never had to paint. Went with quality components whenever we could. Also this was a custom design; actually my wife did a lot of the design, working with the contractor. So we got things pretty much as we wanted.

We did a lot of saving early on so we could pay off the mortgage ahead of schedule. We've had to replace the central A/C every ten years or so, water heater just once. I take care of the pool myself and with solar I can swim until November and be back in (occasionally) in February.

As I said, this is our forever house, unless it gets taken out by a tornado or hurricane. So far no issues with storms except for my pool cage getting damaged by a neighbor's tree back in 2004. We did go from cedar fencing to vinyl a couple of years ago and have been very happy with it, as are our neighbors who now have a fancy vinyl fence on the edge of their yard. I have had a yard service for a couple of decades, since my wife decided she want me to spend my weekends with her, not mowing and trimming. I concurred with that choice :D

So, bottom line I guess, if you're going to get into home ownership, do it earlier in life when you have the energy :wink:
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Re: Home ownership sucks!

Post by Madmarcus »

hitbyambulance wrote: Mon Apr 26, 2021 4:25 pm so what's the advice to someone who is still a non-property owner? would those complaining in this thread actually voluntarily return to being a renter?
Homeownership has been good to me. I haven't seen a huge increase in prices over when I bought the house 21 years ago but the leveraging benefits and the stable, predictable mortgage have been nice. I still feel that the space (garage and yard) and the ability to improve or neglect on my whim are fairly important to me. I've rented for the past 3 years and enjoyed it but I am missing the garage/basement/storage/workshop space.

On the other hand I think the question is unanswerable without also talking about urban/rural/suburban and kids/no kids issues. Without kids or now that my kids are grown I can see renting as a decent tradeoff even if I don't particularly want it. With kids though I think that ownership still wins if you can get into it without crippling your cash flow.
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Re: Home ownership sucks!

Post by jztemple2 »

Madmarcus wrote: Mon Apr 26, 2021 6:17 pm
hitbyambulance wrote: Mon Apr 26, 2021 4:25 pm so what's the advice to someone who is still a non-property owner? would those complaining in this thread actually voluntarily return to being a renter?
Homeownership has been good to me. I haven't seen a huge increase in prices over when I bought the house 21 years ago but the leveraging benefits and the stable, predictable mortgage have been nice. I still feel that the space (garage and yard) and the ability to improve or neglect on my whim are fairly important to me. I've rented for the past 3 years and enjoyed it but I am missing the garage/basement/storage/workshop space.

On the other hand I think the question is unanswerable without also talking about urban/rural/suburban and kids/no kids issues. Without kids or now that my kids are grown I can see renting as a decent tradeoff even if I don't particularly want it. With kids though I think that ownership still wins if you can get into it without crippling your cash flow.
I guess part of that question would involve retirement plans. Do you want to retire where you live now?
My father said that anything is interesting if you bother to read about it - Michael C. Harrold
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